Supreme Court Lifts Ban on Kahane Party, Progressive List; Both Can Now Campaign

June 29, 1984

JERUSALEM (Jun. 28)

The Supreme Court today reversed the Central Elections Committee’s ban on the participation of two political parties in the July 23 Knesset elections.

The five judge panel ruled unanimously that the Progressive List for Peace, a coalition of Israeli Arabs and Jews and Rabbi Meir Kahane’s for rightwing Kach party have the right to present their lists to the voters.

Both parties appealed to the high court against the ban, arguing that the Central Elections Committee exceeded its authority by imposing it. The judges did not deal with that charge but ruled that even if the Central Elections Committee had the authority there was no justification to deny the right of the parties to take part in the elections.

The Central Elections Committee, composed of representatives of the various political parties and chaired by Supreme Court Justice Gavriel Bach, voted to ban the Progressive List for Peace because it calls for a Palestinian state and political negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organization. Kach was banned on grounds that its philosophy threatened democratic institutions.